Electrician&#39;s tool



June 3, 1969 v. F. CLARK ELECTRICIANS TOOL Original Filed Aug. 31, 1964INVIZNIOR. Vow/4 1-7 CLARK BY S 77M",

25 lirro A-Ws United States Patent 3,447,172 ELECTRICIANS TOOL Virgil F.Clark, Rte. 2, Box 222, Burton, Wash. 98013 Continuation of applicationSer. No. 393,208, Aug. 31, 1964. This application Dec. 19, 1966, Ser.No. 611,514 Int. Cl. B25b 7/22; H02g 1/12; B21f 13/00 US. Cl. 75.2 8Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plier type tool with a cable sheathslitter incorporated in the outer portion of one jaw thereof; a hammersurface on the other jaw thereof; a pair of coacting gripper jaws; aside placed pair of coacting cutter blades on the jaw side of the pivot;and a side placed pair of coacting stripper blades on the opposite sideof the pivot. The slitter includes an open channel that is convexlycurved longitudinally of the jaw, and concavely curved laterally of thejaw. An adjustable blade threaded into the jaw at a forward centralposition in the channel. Thumb pressure is used to press the bladerelatively into the sheath.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation of my copending application Ser. No. 393,208, nowabandoned, filed Aug. 31, 1964, and entitled Electricians Tool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present inventionrelates to the field of compound tools, and more particularly to acompound plier type tool which includes gripper means, wire cuttermeans, cable sheath slitter means, cable sheath stripper means, andhammer means.

Description of the prior art A combined tool of the plier typecomprising gripper means, wire cutter means, cable sheath slitter means,and cable .sheath stripper means is disclosed by Ocko 1,699,805. Thegripper jaws of such tool are formed by lateral extensions of a sideplaced scraper blade. The nose of the tool is flat. The cable sheathslitter means is merely a sharp spur projecting outwardly from an outerportion of one of the jaws. In use, it is drawn along the sheath, insimilar fashion to the way a linoleum knife is used. At other times itconstitutes a dangerous sharp obstacle projecting beyond the normalcontour of the plier tool. The stripper means is located at the extremeend of the tool, intermediate the gripper means and the scraper.

Plier type tools comprising gripper means, cutter means, and sheathslitter means are disclosed by Saylor 1,939,574 and Medlin 3,014,387. InSaylor 1,939,574 the slitter means is in one formlocated on the handlesside of the pivot, and is directed laterally of the plier, so that thecable must be moved relatively laterally of the plier, and in a secondform constitutes a lateral protuberance on the tool. In both forms thecable is enclosed at top and bottom during slitting, and the slittingknife is pressed into the cable sheath by the user squeezing the handlestogether. In the latter form, the lateral protuberance constitutes anobstacle to placement of the plier in a sheath or pocket. In Medlin3,014,387 the cutter and stripper blades are located side by side at theextreme end of the jaws, and the sheath slitter means is formed bycomplementary channels carried at inside locations on the plier handles,with one of the channels including a fixed blade. The cutter is pressedinto the sheath by squeezing the handles together.

3,447,172 Patented June 3, 1969 Courtney 918,972 discloses a plier toolcomprising gripper means, cutter means, and slitter means. The slittermeans is formed by a knife carrying channel member projecting laterallyfrom one jaw and a cable supporting shelf projecting laterally from theother jaw below the knife carrying channel member. The knife is pressedinto the sheath by squeezing the handles together. The slitter meansconstitutes a protuberance extending beyond the normal contour of theplier, to constitute an obstacle to placement of the plier in a sheathor a pocket, and making it vulnerable to damage or breakage in the eventthe tool is dropped.

Cook, Jr. 2,697,956 and French Patent No. 1,109,137 disclose combinedtools of the plier type equipped with a gripper means, cutter means andstripper means. In Cook, Jr. 2,697,956 the stripper means is in thenature of a two part attachment for the jaws of a plier tool that isequipped with gripper surfaces at the ends of the jaws and side placedcutters between the gripping surfaces and the pivot. One portion of thestripper attachment projects laterally from the upper jaw and the otherprojects laterally from the lower jaw.

Combined tools of the plier type comprising gripper means, cutter meansand hammer means, all incorporated in the jaw members of the tool, aredisclosed by Haeberli 871,585 and Berg 1,364,829.

Tomsick 2,400,177 discloses a combined tool of the plier type comprisingjaw portions arranged to form 'a shears type of cutter, and cable sheathslitter means incorporated in the tool between the pivot and thehandles. The slitter means comprises a cable passageway which is closedboth top and bottom, and is directed laterally of the tool. The cutterelement is pressed into the sheath by squeezing the handles of the tooltogether.

Collins 744,167 and Singer 1,225,723 disclose plier type tools whichinclude cutter means, gripper means and a pulling spur, for use inwithdrawing staples, cotter pins, or the like.

Klinger 1,739,972, Deering 3,092,906, and Cook, Jr., 3,238,618 disclosehand held cable sheath slitting implements which include an open channelfor receiving the sheathed cable, the operation of which involves usingthumb pressure to press the knife relatively into the sheath. Theseimplements are not combined with a plier type tool.

Wachstein 2,089,744, Torrence 2,410,252, and Eyles 2,819,520 discloseother types of hand held electrical cable sheath slitting implements,each of which involves a sheathed cable passageway that is closed bothat top and bottom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to anelectricians tool of the plier type, expressly designed to permit a userto perform with a single tool all operations incident to multiconductorelectrical cable installation.

As is well known, building codes and like regulations commonly require aform of electrical wiring for use in house construction and the likewhich is known by the brand name Romex, a multiple conductor, sheathedcable with at least two parallel arranged copper or like conductors,each with its own rubber or plastic covering, which covers are in turnsurrounded by an external rubber, plastic or fibrous sheath. In general,the installation procedure for such electrical wiring involves thefollowing steps:

(A) Cutting the Romex cable to appropriate length to extend from onewiring point to another.

(B) Slitting the external sheath.

(C) Cutting off the slit portion of the sheath.

(D) Stripping the ends of the individual conductor wires.

(E) Twisting each bare wire conductor end and the bare end of aconnecting wire to form the appropriate circuit connections.

(F) Ham-mering staples at points along the Romex cable to mount it tothe supporting structure.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a singletool by which the user can perform all of the above steps.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide in such atool a sheath stripper means arranged on the outside of one of the jawportions of the tool.

A related somewhat more specific object of the present invention is toprovide a plier type tool with raised ridges standing out from the sidesof a jaw of the tool, and with a sheath stripper blade also standing outfrom the tool jaw, between said raised ridges, the lateral configurationof such sheath stripper means being such that the wide lateral dimensionof the Romex cable is snugly received between such raised ridges andheld against the jaw and against the stripper blade by the thumb of onehand of the user while the handles of the tool are gripped by the otherhand of the used and the cable drawn past the stripper blade.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide in a tool ofthe character indicated a combination of two pairs of cutter blades,respectively arranged on opposite sides of the pivot means of the tool,one such pair of cutter blades providing sheath cutoff means and theother such pair of blades being configured to include one or morestripper notches and serving to strip an appropriate length off the endsof each of the individual wire conductors.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide, in anelectricians tool of the character indicated, a hammer face on theoutside surface of the jaw of the tool other than the jaw thereofmounting the cable sheath stripper means.

7 Yet another object of the present invention is to provide in anelectricians tool involving a multiple combination of stripper, cutter,gripper and hammer elements, an arrangement of such elements so that theconfiguration of any one such element does not interfere with theeffectiveness of any other such element, and does not result in a basicchange in the tools shape or contour.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a sheathstripper means on the outside surface of the jaw of a plier type tool,wherein such stripper means includes an upstanding knife blade and sideplaced up standing ridges, with such ridges being at least about as highas such knife blade in order to at least partially protect the blade andprevent the blade from cutting objects not placed between the ridges.

These and other inherent objects, features, advantages andcharacteristics of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of a typical and therefore nonlimitive embodimentof the invention, as described below in conjunction with theaccompanying illustrations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES In the drawing like elementdesignations refer to like parts, and:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of such embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the tool shown in FIG. 1, with aportion of one jaw of the tool being cut away to show further detail ofthe stripper blade arrangement therein;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of the tool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary bottom view of the tool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a detail perspective view on an enlarged scale further showingthe construction of the stripper blade member of the tool shown in FIGS.1 and 2; and

FIG. 6 is a front view of the upper jaw portion of the tool shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, providing a further showing of the configuration thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION The embodiment of the invention shownin the accompanying illustrations is usable to perform the above wiringinstallation steps in the following manner. Cutting step (A) isperformed by side placed cutter blades Al, A2; sheath slitting step (B)is performed by the blade 10 of the stripper blade member B1 situatedbetween the outstanding guide ridges B2 on the upper jaw portion 11 ofthe tool, with said ridges B2 being laterally spaced and of a height sothat the recessed area therebetween snugly accommodates the wide lateraldimension of the Romex cable; the sheath cutting step (C) is performedby cutter blades A1, A2; the stripping step (D) to remove the coveringfrom each of the conductor wires of the Rome): cable is performed by aselected pair of stripper notches 12 (for 12 gage wire), or 14 (for 14gage wire) in side placed stripper blades D1, D2; twisting step (E) isperformed by the gripper surfaces 16, 18 on the respective jaw portionsJ1, J2; and the hammering step (F) is performed by the knurled outerfaces 20, 21 on the lower jaw J2. In the preferable form shown, thehandle portions H1, H2 of the tool when closed are configured to lierelatively closer together than are the handles of a conventional pairof pliers, to make the handle portions relatively easier to grasp andmanipulate, particularly when the cable sheath is being slit (step (B))and when the tool is used as a hammer (step (F)).

As will be apparent, the tool shown can in general be categorized asbeing of the plier type, com-prising two members pivotallyinterconnected by a pivot means P, with each of such members having ahandle portion H1 (or H2) at one end and a jaw portion J1 (or J2) at theother end.

As will also be apparent, the combination of elements making up what isgenerally termable the Sheath stripper means includes as componentelements the stripper blade member B1 with the edge of its blade 10facing substantially parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the tool,and further includes the outer surface 22 of the jaw J1 intermediatelyof the guide ridges B2, together with guide ridges B2. When using suchsheath stripper means in the performance of the above step (B), the userfor example grips the handles H1, H2 in his right hand, places the cableend to be desheathed between his thumb and forefinger of the left hand,and then grips the jaw portions of the tool with the left hand and bythumb pressure urges a wide face of the cable against surface 22 of jawJ1 between ridges B2 so that blade 10 pierces the cable sheath at thedesired point where slitting of the cable sheath is to begin. A typicalplacement of the cable C between the ridges B2 so as to be bisected byknife edge 10 is shown fragmentarily by broken line in FIGS. 3 and 6.With the Romex cable thus emplaced and held by the left thumb so as tomaintain cutting engagement with the blade 10, the user then simplypulls the cable end and its sheath past the blade 10 whereupon thesheath becomes slit from the point of insertion of the blade 10 out toits end.

The stripper blade member B1, and particularly the blade 10 thereof, ispreferably removable from its mounting jaw J1 (as for sharpening), andalso is preferably adjustable as to height (to accommodate sheaththickness or wear). To provide such removability and adjustability, thei1 ustrated tool includes a threaded hole 24 in jaw J1 and matingthreads 26 on the surface of the stripper blade member B1, as well asscrewdriver blade receiving recess 28.

If desired, and as will be apparent, stripper blades D1, D2 can be madeto be demountable and interchangeable, as by being mounted inlongitudinally extending keyways, to enable use of blades with varioussize stripper notches 12, 14.

A detail feature of the stripper blade of considerable practicaladvantage is its rounded configuration. Such rounded configuration hasbeen found to be considerably superior in terms of non-cloggingcharacteristics as compared with a knife edge standing out at a rightangle from surface 22.

From the foregoing, various further modes of use, applications, andstructural modifications of tools embodying the principles of theinvention will readily occur to those skilled in the art to which theinvention is addressed, and are to be considered within the scope of theinvention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electricians tool of the plier type having a pair of handleparts and a pair of forwardly converging jaw portions including coactinggripping inner surfaces, the improvement consisting of cable sheathslitter means integrated into the outer portion of one of said jawportions, entirely outwardly of the gripping surface thereon, saidsheath slitter means comprising a pair of laterally spaced, slightlyraised, longitudinally extending side walls forming a longitudinallyextending open chan nel of convex curvature longitudinally and concavecurvature laterally, and a stripper blade in said channel near theforward end of said jaw portion, said blade being gen erally centered insaid channel and having a cutting edge facing generally toward thehandle end of the tool, said channel being of a size to snugly receivethe 'wide lateral dimension of a sheathed multiple conductor cablepressed thereinto by a thumb of the user, and said side walls being atleast about as high as said stripper blade and having a smoothly curvedprofile longitudinally considered.

2. A tool as in claim 1, wherein the stripper blade of said strippermeans is anchored in the jaw portion and comprises means for heightadjustment thereof in said channel.

3. A tool as in claim 1, wherein said height adjustment means comprisescoacting threads between said jaw portion and such stripper blademember.

4. An electricians tool of the plier type, comprising: two memberspivotally interconnected by pivot means, and each having a handleportion at one end thereof and a jaw portion at the other end thereof,said tool further including coacting gripping inner surfaces on said jawportions, a first pair of coacting cutter blades on said jaw portion,between said gripping surfaces and said pivot means, a second pair ofcoacting cutter blades on the opposite side of said pivot means, with atleast one pair of said cutter blades including a set of strippernotches, and a sheath slitter means integrated into the outer portion ofone of said jaw portions, said sheath slitter means comprising a pair oflaterally spaced, slightly raised, longitudinally extending side wallsforming a longitudinally extending open channel of convex curvaturelongitudinally and concave curvature laterally, and a stripper blade insaid channel near the forward end of said jaw portion, said blade beinggenerally centered in said channel and having a cutting edge facinggenerally toward the handle end of the tool, said channel being of asize to snugly receive the wide lateral dimension of a sheathed multipleconductor cable pressed thereinto by a thumb of the user, and said sidewalls being at least about as high as said stripper blade and having asmoothly curved profile longitudinally considered.

5. A tool as in claim 4, wherein the stripper blade member has athreaded base and a screwdriver slot at the end of said base, and athreaded through opening extends completely through the stripper bladecarrying jaw, said through opening making said slot accessible from theinside of said jaw.

6. A tool as in claim 4, wherein the second jaw portion comprises agenerally flat outside surface extending generally parallel to thegripping surface of said second jaw portion, such flat outside being ofa size to serve as a hammer face when the tool is used for drivingstaples and the like.

7. A tool as in claim 6, wherein said handle portions are configured tobe relatively close together when gripped, as compared with the handleinterspacing of a conventional side cutter type pair of pliers whengripped, so as to facilitate gripping of such handles when the tool isused as a hammer.

8. A tool as in claim 1, wherein the stripper blade member has athreaded base and a threaded through opening extends completely throughthe stripper base carrying jaw, said through opening including threadswhich mate with the threads on the base of said stripper blade member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,364,829 1/1921 Berg 7-5.2

1,699,805 1/ 1929 Ocko 30-912 1,739,972 12/ 1929 Klinger.

2,410,252 10/ 1946 Torrence 8 l9.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,109,137 9/ 1955" France.

MYRON C. KRUSE, Primary Examiner.

R. V. PARKER, JR., Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

